- US House rejects last-ditch FISA extension ahead of Friday deadline
Source: Axios
“The House rejected a short-term extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on Thursday, putting the government’s foreign surveillance authority on track to expire. A standoff over President Trump’s decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence has jeopardized what lawmakers in both parties consider one of the government’s most important intelligence tools. The vast majority of House Democrats opposed the extension through July 2, along with dozens of conservatives who are upset about a lack of reforms. The vote was 198-218. If Congress doesn’t act, Section 702 will lapse Friday.” (06/11/26)
- Sudanese paramilitary drone strikes kill at least 15 people in central region, officials say
Source: ABC News
“Sudanese paramilitary forces carried out drone strikes overnight in central Sudan, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, health officials said Thursday, as the use of unmanned aircraft becomes increasingly common in the more than three-year war in the African country. The attacks, which started late Wednesday, targeted various areas of the city of el-Obeid, including near an army position, according to two health officials at el-Obed Hospital, which received the victims. More than 10 people were also wounded, some critically, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023, after long-simmering tensions between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. The conflict has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million, and pushed many parts of the country into famine.” (06/11/26)
- US Jobless Aid Filings Rise to 229,000
Source: US News & World Report
“U.S. applications for jobless aid rose modestly last week, but remain at a historically low level despite economic headwinds brought on by the war in Iran. The number of Americans filing for unemployment aid for the week ending June 6 rose by 4,000 to 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most since early February, before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, but still considered a healthy level. It’s also more than the 216,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.” (06/11/26)
- European Central Bank hikes interest rates for first time since 2023 as Iran war ramps up energy costs
Source: CNBC
“The European Central Bank announced a quarter-point rate hike on Thursday, bringing its key interest rate to 2.25% as the Iran war continues to blow inflation off target. Markets had been pricing in a near-100% chance of the ECB raising rates by at least 25 basis points ahead of its June Governing Council meeting, according to LSEG data. The ECB’s Governing Council said the decision had been made in a bid to ward off inflationary pressures generated by the U.S.-Iran war.” (06/11/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/11/ecb-hikes-interest-rates.html
- UK: Healey resigns as defense secretary, accuses regime of not spending enough on military
Source: Independent [UK]
“John Healey has dramatically resigned as defence secretary, warning Sir Keir Starmer that his defence investment plan (Dip) ‘falls well short of what is required.’ His shock resignation comes amid mounting tensions within the Cabinet over the publication of the long-delayed plan, which will set out how new equipment and defence infrastructure will be funded in the next decade. In his resignation letter to the prime minister – which he said he ‘never expected to write’ – Mr Healey accused Sir Keir and the chancellor of having been ‘unwilling to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats.'” (06/11/26)
- Pentagon on lockdown, hazmat crews rush in over “hazardous materials incident”
Source: New York Post
“The Pentagon is on lockdown Thursday as emergency workers respond to the Department of War’s headquarters for ‘a hazardous materials incident,’ Arlington County Fire and EMS said in a post to X. ‘ACFD units, including our Hazardous Materials Team, are currently operating at the Pentagon in support of PFPA’s Hazmat Team during a hazardous materials incident,’ it said. Building systems detected an ‘air quality issue,’ which prompted a shelter-in-place order, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. ‘The Pentagon has sophisticated systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants,’ Parnell said. ‘Those systems have detected an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance. The Department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area. Response teams are in place and ready to support building occupants.'” (06/11/26)
- Lawyers: US regime plans to deport abducted refugees to “do not go there” country
Source: New York Times
“The Trump administration is preparing to deport nearly two dozen people to the Central African Republic on Thursday, including at least two Iranian women who had sought refuge in the United States, according to lawyers and a government official. The flight, which is also expected to include migrants from Afghanistan and Syria, would mark the first such deportation to the Central African Republic, a deeply impoverished country that has been plagued by conflict. The country is so dangerous that the U.S. State Department states on its website, ‘do not travel for any reason.’ At least some of the migrants have received court orders in the United States prohibiting their deportation to their home countries because of the threat of persecution or torture, their lawyers said. … The Trump administration is working to find ways to deport people despite these court orders.” (06/11/26)
- CA: Amid explosive fraud probe, Trump admin yanks funding from LA homeless agency
Source: Fox News
“A top Trump agency is cutting off funding to the Los Angeles agency responsible for coordinating billions in homelessness spending after accusing it of ‘obvious fraud,’ ‘wanton mismanagement’ and repeated failures to safeguard taxpayer dollars, Fox News Digital has learned. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is a member of the White House fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance, is immediately suspending the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA) federal funding while HUD’s inspector general investigates potential offenses by the agency and its leadership, according to a letter sent to LAHSA’s board chair Wendy Greuel and its CEO Gita O’Neill, which was obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital. The letter detailed conflicts of interest, financial mismanagement, fraud, lack of oversight, and more from the homelessness agency, which has faced efforts by the city and county to take it over.” (06/11/26)
- Canada: Idiot pols fantasize that they can ban social media use for youth under 16
Source: Seattle Times
“Canada is joining a growing list of countries seeking to protect [sic] young people from harm [sic] online by restricting their access to social media platforms. The Canadian government Wednesday introduced a new digital safety [sic] proposal that would require users to verify that they are [capable of faking being] at least 16 to access websites such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. A new regulator called the Digital Safety Commission of Canada would administer the proposed measures, officials said.” (06/11/26)
- Convicted killer’s family used fundraiser money for moving & living expenses
Source: Fox News
“Karmelo Anthony will serve his sentence while it appears the fundraising campaign for his family organized by his mother, Kala Hayes, has been taken down. Anthony was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years behind bars on Tuesday. He has since filed a notice of appeal to challenge the conviction. He said in his appeal that he cannot afford a new lawyer, WFAA reported. Those documents say, Anthony is a ‘penniless, destitute, and indigent person, too poor to employ counsel to represent me on the appeal,’ according to the outlet. The fundraiser was posted on GiveSendGo, an international crowdfunding platform, on April 15, 2025. It was less than two weeks after Anthony fatally stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas. All the while, the fundraiser for Anthony and his family, titled, ‘Help Karmelo Official Fund,’ initially had a goal of generating nearly $1.4 million, and raised just shy of $634,000.” (06/11/26)
- Saudi Arabia: Regime ends ban on Lebanese exports
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“Saudi Arabia is to allow the resumption of Lebanese exports to the kingdom, its official press agency reported on Wednesday, ending a years-long ban on the goods imposed amid concerns over the influence of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the resumption ‘in accordance with the positive steps taken by the Lebanese government,’ the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. … In April 2021, the kingdom suspended fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon, asserting shipments were being used for drug-smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction.” (06/11/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/saudi-arabia-ends-years-long-ban-lebanese-exports
- Historic US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The Haskell Free Library and Opera House, a landmark community institution built deliberately across the Canada–US border in 1904 so neighbours could share books and performances, has opened a new Canada-only entrance. This comes after the Trump administration limited access for individuals entering from Canada, barring them from using the library’s original main entrance, situated in Vermont on the US side of the border. For more than a century, visitors from both countries moved freely through the building, crossing the international border marked by a strip of black tape on the floor. But tighter US security rules effectively closed the historic shared entrance to Canadian visitors in October 2025. The new entrance, created from a former emergency exit on the Canadian side, was a costly project funded in part through community fundraising.” (06/11/26)
- FISA Fail: A Good First Step, But Hold Off on the Celebration
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“FISA was always terrible, and section 702 always made it even worse. I’m glad it failed of re-passage. It needs to die in a fire, permanently. But there’s nothing really to celebrate here, because we’ve known — since at least as far back as 2013 — how the US regime operates with regard to its surveillance powers. If the US regime doesn’t like the law, it breaks the law. If US regime figures are asked (under oath) about breaking the law, they deny (under oath) breaking the law. If a whistleblower outs the evidence that the US regime is breaking the law, the US regime charges the whistleblower with espionage and chases him out of the country, while the perjurers continue their skulduggery without penalty or punishment.” (06/11/26)
- Iran Is Now More Dangerous Than Ever
Source: Foreign Policy
by Rob Geist Pinfold“U.S. President Donald Trump’s reason for launching a ‘special military operation’ against Iran in February remains disputed. But the United States’[s] broad goals were clear: compel Iran, which the 2025 National Security Strategy labeled as ‘the region’s chief destabilizing force,’ to abandon its sponsorship of a regional network of violent nonstate actors and curtail its nuclear program. In short, the United States sought to force Iran to comprehensively overhaul its grand strategy, through either regime change or a deal. To understand how badly this effort has failed, it’s important to understand how Iran’s grand strategy has shifted.” (06/11/26)
- Magnifica Humanitas, AI, and the State
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Ulrich Fromy“The encyclical Magnifica Humanitas by Pope Leo XIV is a remarkable text in many ways. It recognizes the dangers of technological concentration and the threat that large private platforms pose to human dignity. The text warns of ‘social control made possible by the massive collection of data and use of algorithmic systems’ and speaks of ‘the architecture of visibility.’ However, it has a blind spot: it does not dare to name states as possible architects of these surveillance structures.” (06/11/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/magnifica-humanitas-ai-and-state
- The Economist Who Wants To Make the World Poorer
Source: Reason
by Veronique de Rugy“Thomas Piketty’s plan is a comprehensive program for global managed decline dressed up in the language of climate justice and equality.” (06/11/25)
https://reason.com/2026/06/11/the-economist-who-wants-to-make-the-world-poorer/
- US Empire Managers View Iranian Sovereignty As An Act Of Aggression
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the US is going to be launching major strikes in Iran, while President Trump says he’ll ‘bomb the shit out of’ the Iranians if they don’t agree to a deal of his liking. … Meanwhile the US war machine is acting like a poor widdle victim and claiming it’s only bombing Iran in order to defend itself from unwarranted aggression. CENTCOM released a statement on Wednesday saying ‘U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today’ …. Yep, sure, I know what that’s like. I just drove across town to break into someone’s house and he tried to stop me from pouring gasoline all over his living room, so I had to kill him in self-defense.” (06/11/26)
- The Truth Is Simple: Democrats [and Republicans – TLK] Don’t Care About Anything but Gaining Power
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter“Character does not matter, at least in politics. People can do things that cause embarrassment or shame, or at least would have in the past, and it will not hinder their pathway to power. If Harvey Weinstein were out of prison, he could easily win another Oscar. If Jeffrey Epstein were alive, he would still be getting solicitations for meetings and donations from Democrats [and Repblicans – TLK]. The old joke about the only way a powerful politician could be taken out is if they were caught ‘with a live boy or a dead girl’ has lost its punch, as those would likely be resumé enhancements today. Neither of those options would surprise me about the Democrat Texas has chosen to run for the Senate, and nothing would surprise me about the one they picked to run for Senate from Maine.” (06/11/26)
- When It Really is Racist to Talk About Racial Gaps
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“I have a dream. I dream of a world where well-informed people calmly and candidly discuss society’s ugliest statistical realities. I dream of a world where no one stigmatizes those who participate in these discussions as ‘racist’ (or ‘sexist,’ ‘homophobic,’ ‘xenophobic,’ ‘anti-Semitic,’ or ‘Islamophobic’). I dream of a world where everyone in these discussions speaks respectfully about all of the groups under consideration. I dream of a world where the point of these discussions is to help craft humane tailored policy responses, not rationalize collective punishment or bless the status quo. Above all, I dream of a world where all participants are mindful that individual exceptions to statistical rules are ubiquitous. The hashtag #NotAllX is never far from the thoughts of any intellectually honest person.” (06/11/26)
- Why I’m done with “Heteropessimism”
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz“‘Heteropessimism’ is top-half women aping their bottom-half counterparts. It’s a rich person performing poor-person behavior. Like a man wearing Dickies to his graphic design job, top-half women pretend to swear off men while bottom-half women really do it.” (06/11/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/why-im-done-with-heteropessimism
- Nostalgia
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mani Basharzad“If someone asked me what the most dangerous economic ideology is, many would expect an Austrian to give a typical answer: Marxism, socialism, or Modern Monetary Theory. Yet I believe there is another way of thinking that is even more pervasive. It is not a coherent body of ideas like those ideologies. Rather, it is a sentiment so widespread and socially accepted that it threatens not merely economic freedom, but our very understanding of progress itself. I call it ‘nostalgia economics.'” (06/11/26)
- In Syria, hope continues to bloom
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“In the Middle East, drones, missiles, and airstrikes continue to streak across the Gulf and, with more intensity, between Israel and Lebanon. Surrounded by these adjacent conflicts, Syria, however, as the Monitor’s Taylor Luck reports this week, is ‘an island of calm in the stormy Middle East’. And of buoyant hope. That is a credit to Syrians’ resilience and faith in progress, as they confront economic and political challenges and emerge from the aftermath of years of repression and civil war. Some credit is also due their former insurgent turned president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has sought to shore up stability and restore basic services, through civic conciliation and political pragmatism. For the international community, Syria’s current situation validates the hope and confidence placed in the government that ousted a brutal dictatorship in December 2024.” (06/10/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0610/In-Syria-hope-continues-to-bloom
- May’s Inflation Is More Than an Energy Story
Source: The Daily Economy
by Bryan Cutsinger“Core inflation remained relatively subdued, but headline shocks, strong demand, and a tight labor market complicate the outlook for monetary policy.” (06/11/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/inflation-is-more-than-an-energy-story/
- How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the New Normal Reich
Source: Consent Factory, Inc.
by CJ Hopkins”
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the New Normal Reich
So the German Supreme Court has ruled on my case. Their ruling is that they will not rule on my case. They sent my attorney a letter to that effect. It literally says: ‘The constitutional complaint will not be accepted for a ruling. No explanation is provided. This ruling is incontestable.’ So I am now officially a ‘hate criminal’ in Germany. I was already pretty much a “hate criminal” in Germany, but now it’s official. This is Germany’s supreme court. There is no higher court to appeal to. OK, sure, there’s the European Court of Human Rights, the international court of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, but it doesn’t have the power to enforce its rulings, and the German authorities and courts have made it clear that they couldn’t care less about anyone’s opinion of their paranoid and authoritarian behavior.” (06/11/26)https://consentfactory.org/2026/06/11/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-new-normal-reich/
- Jump the Inflation
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“A term in pop culture analysis, now a bit passé, is worth reviving: ‘jump the shark.’ … A spectacle so goofy that it can serve as a marker for any great moment when something really goes into steep decline. The second Trump Administration has had many such moments, but are any as odd and stupid as the president’s recent remark about the Consumer Price Index?” (06/11/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/06/11/jump-the-inflation/
- Trump and Co.’s Bumbling Attempt to Rob US Taxpayers Is Backfiring
Source: Truthdig
by Bill Blum“Whoever designed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department must be a fan of the Ocean’s Eleven movie franchise. The multi-act plot lines are strikingly similar: Put together a motley crew of risk takers; pick a seemingly invincible target rich in treasure; infiltrate the target; exploit its weaknesses; and get away with an improbable heist while the guards are asleep, distracted, or otherwise occupied. Act One of Trump’s story arc began on January 29, when he and his eldest sons and the Trump Organization filed the lawsuit in federal district court in Miami. If only briefly, it seemed like the plan just might work.” (06/11/26)
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/in-his-own-heist-movie-donald-trump-stars-as-the-loser/
- Social Security is Facing a Political Crisis
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman“On Tuesday the Social Security Trustees released their latest report on the system’s finances. The numbers didn’t change much: Unless something is done, the Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, Social Security’s official name, will be unable to pay full benefits starting in either 2032 or 2034, depending on some technical issues. That’s not far away: If the Trustees are right, the prospect of a Social Security crisis will loom over the next presidential administration. It’s important to understand, however, the nature of the looming crisis. It won’t be an economic crisis. It won’t even be a serious fiscal crisis. Whatever you may have heard, Social Security isn’t in danger of going bankrupt. What we’re facing, instead, is potential political crisis. Congress and the White House could easily take action to sustain America’s retirement system. But given the current state of our politics, there’s no guarantee that they will.” (06/11/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/social-security-is-facing-a-political
- How did audits miss FCPS’s financial woes for so long?
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Richard G Innes“By now, a Lexington resident would have to be a recluse to not know that the area’s public school system is facing major financial problems. Coverage of issues like a $16 million budget shortfall and a contingency fund that might be only around $15 to $22 million — not the supposed $42 million — has gotten just about everyone’s attention. … One can only wonder what is going on when the district’s new, chief interim financial officer admits the district grossly overestimated revenue from property, motor vehicle and occupational taxes. Things got more odiferous when the Herald-Leader reported ‘Emails show suspended FCPS budget director warned of needed cuts’ after former district Budget director Ann Sampson-Grimes’[s] lawsuit broke. The suit alleges she was improperly removed from her position after trying to inform district leadership about serious budget issues.” (06/11/26)
- Standing Downstream from Dobbs
Source: Law & Liberty
by John O McGinnis“Law professors have finally found a positive aspect of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that overruled Roe v. Wade’s creation of constitutionally protected abortion rights. They claim that its jurisprudential logic requires overruling two of the cases most hated by the left-liberal legal academy — Buckley v. Valeo, which recognized the right of citizens to spend money on candidates and causes at election time, and New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which invalidated a regime that required a license granted only under strict conditions to carry a gun. But these claims misunderstand the common originalist basis, if not all the reasoning, of these decisions.” (06/11/26)
- US Citizens Must Stop the Madness Their Empire Imposes on Them and the World
Source: Foreign Policy In Focus
by Elena Gutiérrez“Since January 2026, when the intensification of US policies aimed at suffocating the Cuban people began, I have had the opportunity to travel to the island three times. Each time I return with my heart a little more broken, but also with a stronger conviction that we need to defend Cuba. As a Mexican, I have received, on behalf of my compatriots, thousands of expressions of gratitude and hugs that the Cuban people send to the Mexican people. Every time I am there, I speak about the empathy and understanding we have toward Cuba, about the great efforts ordinary Mexicans make to bring a few kilos of rice to collection centers. And when I listen to Cubans, I learn a little more about the deep history that unites us.” (06/11/26)
https://fpif.org/the-u-s-is-preparing-an-assault-on-cuba-it-should-learn-from-cuba-instead/
- The Return of the Native
Source: Washington Monthly
by Matthew Cooper“Nicholas Lemann’s family history illuminates what it means to be Jewish in America and explains how we choose our religious and ethnic identities.” (06/11/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/06/11/the-return-of-the-native/
- Did New Deal Spending End the Great Depression?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Marcus M Witcher“George Selgin’s ‘False Dawn’ empirically demolishes the claim that Franklin Roosevelt pursued a Keynesian recovery strategy.” (06/11/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/did-new-deal-spending-end-the-great-depression/
- When Statesmen Command Soldiers
Source: Law & Liberty
by Ayla McBreen“ow worried should we be about civil-military relations?” (06/11/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/when-statesmen-command-soldiers/
- How American Progressives Influenced Hitler
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson“In a recent article, I agreed with Justice Clarence Thomas that progressivism did (and still does) much damage to our body politic and our society. Obviously, the so-called intelligentsia in academe, politics, and the media didn’t agree. What really set off the critics, however, was Thomas’s claim that progressivism had helped pave the way for Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Hitler, of course, is universally hated while both Stalin and Mao — despite their mass murdering — were roundly praised by the western intellectuals and journalists. … [E]was not a minor point of progressive thinking and held only by a small minority at that. Instead, eugenics as promoted by American progressives was an important part of their entire belief system, which held to the supremacy of ‘science,’ as opposed to governance by mere passions.” (06/11/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/how-american-progressives-influenced-hitler
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Economic Misconceptions
Source: The Daily Economy
by Paul McDonnold“From goblin banks to unbreakable galleons, the wizarding world of Harry Potter reflects a form of folk economics that clashes with the realities of prosperity and growth.” (06/11/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-economic-misconceptions/
- An Unwarranted War, a Global Economic Drag
Source: Antiwar.com
by Dan Steinbock“When the US-Iran conflict escalated earlier this year, the immediate concern centered on oil prices and the Strait of Hormuz. But the real danger was never confined to crude oil. The crisis has evolved into a broader energy, logistics, fertilizer, food and financial shock. What began as a regional conflict has become a structural drag on the global economy.” (06/11/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/dan_steinbock/2026/06/10/an-unwarranted-war-a-global-economic-drag/
- It must be June, as hysterical leftists [sic] whine they want to pack SCOTUS
Source: Fox News
by Kelly Shackelford“It’s June, which means the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to issue some of its most significant opinions of the term and, predictably, radicals on the political left are renewing their hysterical calls for sweeping changes to the court whenever decisions fail to align with their preferred policy outcomes. In recent years, virtually every Supreme Court ruling that has diverged from progressive policy preferences has been met with demands for so-called ‘court reform.’ This year, however, many prominent voices have abandoned any pretense of moderation, with demands for packing the court becoming the norm. U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, one of the most influential members of the Democratic Party, recently stated, ‘The Supreme Court is a disgrace. In the new Congress, we’re going to have to do something about this Supreme Court and let me be very clear: Everything is on the table — everything — to deal with this corrupt MAGA majority.'” (06/11/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/must-june-hysterical-leftists-whine-want-pack-supreme-court
- Yes, I Will Be Watching Every Minute of FIFA’s $11 Billion Heist
Source: Persuasion
by Quico Toro“What if your favorite thing in the world was in the hands of a ghoul? Like the damsel in King Kong’s hand, the FIFA World Cup is a thing of rare beauty in the grip of a monster. The tournament is disfigured by its prefix: FIFA, football’s cartoonishly evil world governing body, a cartel of such rapacious vice its perfidy almost — but never quite — obscures the luminescent glory of el mundial. … Every four years, the World Cup plants a flag in my life, transforming the boring middle-aged fart I’ve become back into the awestruck eight-year-old with a heart broken at the hands of Paolo Rossi.” (06/11/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/yes-i-will-be-watching-every-minute
- Politics never does kill what doesn’t work, does it?
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall“Global Witness is telling us all that the things put in place to make sure that coltan (columbo-tantalite, a source of tantalum for mobile phone capacitors) does not come from slave driven mines aren’t working …. We agree, slave driven mines are a bad thing. It’s just that this problem was brought up before and a solution imposed. We disagreed with the solution imposed at the time as well, while Global Witness, Global Justice Now and the like all argued, vociferously, for that solution to be imposed. … In normal life something that’s an abject failure stops being done. In politics abject failure just carries on to the impoverishment of everyone — costs imposed that achieve nothing.” (06/11/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/politics-never-does-kill-what-doesnt-work-does-it
- No Guns, No Drugs — Why Did We Blow Up These Boats?
Source: The Bulwark
by Amanda Klasing“Tim Kaine and Rand Paul made a shocking revelation last week about the U.S. military’s boat strikes in the East Pacific and Caribbean — attacks legal experts agree are illegal. In questioning Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Foreign Relations Committee hearing, they revealed that the targeting decisions about which boats would be attacked did not take into account whether they had drugs or arms aboard. In other words, the military may have attacked — and may attack in the future — a boat that carries neither drugs nor weapons, yet somehow, according to the Trump administration, constitutes a military threat to national security. … This is a ludicrous position. At the very least, insurgency and asymmetric warfare have to include some warlike activity, and merely sailing a boat through international waters is no more inherently warlike than taking a walk in the park or eating a hamburger.” (06/11/26)
- Why a single “peace deal” for Ukraine war just won’t work
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Ian Proud“The time is ripe for European leaders to set aside the self-licking summits in European capitals and get in the room with the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia to orchestrate a modern-day Helsinki Conference. A durable peace for Ukraine will require several interlocking agreements, each of which will be incredibly difficult to negotiate, but all of which will be vital if we are to avoid a general war in Europe.” (06/11/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-russia-europe-talks/
- Graham Platner and the Class Politics of Impunity
Source: Liberal Currents
by Alan Elrod“Graham Platner is now through to the general election in Maine. He has survived another scandal, despite the fact that June is an unlikely time for the final story on him to drop. And his supporters, both in Maine and across the country, appear unwilling to abandon him for any reason. I want to argue here that Platner is a beneficiary of two kinds of populist thought, moving from both the bottom up and the top down. The first kind is the traditional sort, the kind that leads to Platner being excused as a hardscrabble everyman with rough edges. The second is an elite driven form of populism …. that underwrites the audacity of a Hotchkiss School dropout turned military adventurist turned oyster farmer to run for a Senate seat with no prior experience and no recognition that a single one of his subsequent scandals could be disqualifying.” (06/11/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/graham-platner-and-the-class-politics-of-impunity/
- The Iran War’s Hidden Tax on American Households
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen“The energy index surged 3.9% in May, accounting for the lion’s share, over 60%, of the monthly CPI gain. Gasoline prices jumped about 7% MoM (with even larger unadjusted moves) and sit 40.5% higher than a year ago. Overall energy costs are up 23.5% YoY. Food prices rose more modestly, while shelter costs continued their steady grind higher in the core measure. This isn’t abstract economic noise. It’s a direct hit to real incomes. … The primary culprit is unmistakable: the ongoing U.S.-involved conflict with Iran that Washington and Tel Aviv launched in late February 2026.” (06/11/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-iran-wars-hidden-tax-on-american-households
- Trillionaire Welfare Baby Elon Musk Is Born!
Source: Common Dreams
by Corbin Trent“SpaceX goes public Friday at around $1.7 trillion. Elon Musk owns enough SpaceX stock that, on top of everything else he holds, Musk becomes the first person in human history to cross the trillion-dollar line. The coverage will be all hype. Unprecedented. A genius. Where’s he going next? What does the future hold? It wasn’t like Elon Musk invented some amazing capacity. He didn’t do something transformational for the world. He didn’t harness electricity. He didn’t invent the transistor. He didn’t invent rocket flight. He didn’t invent satellite technology. He didn’t even make them much better. What he did was learn how to game the system. He took what America built through generations of investment and generations of hard work and turned it into a profit center for himself. He took American loans, American intellectual property, American space, American airwaves, and turned them into a wealth engine for one man.” (06/11/26)
- Be Not Afraid: Fear, Pope Leo, and Donald Trump
Source: The American Spectator
by Paul Kengor“[T]he American pontiff doesn’t appear to agree with the American president’s war policy with Iran. And Trump doesn’t take kindly to people who disagree with him. He can be downright ugly to those not on his side. Even popes. As for Leo, he’s unafraid. He sees his job as preaching the Gospel fearlessly, and he said so from the very outset of his papacy. What he said ought to inspire and uplift all of us at a time when so much else in the world seems to be falling apart.” (06/10/26)
https://spectator.org/be-not-afraid-fear-pope-leo-and-donald-trump/
- Whose Privacy Rights Are They Anyway?
Source: The Dispatch
by Annalise DeVries“There is a strain of anti-liberalism regarding women’s rights that goes from one end of the horseshoe to the other. Thirty years ago, it was post-modern scholars arguing that liberalism did not know how to adequately approach women’s womb-bearing bodies, and so the liberal political system ought to be dismantled. More recently, Christian nationalists have argued that women’s rights upset the natural order. As Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist pastor, put it in an interview with CNN, women shouldn’t exert individual rights because they ‘are the kind of people other people come out of.’ While one’s inclination might be to scoff at these arguments, their common conviction that women’s rights expose the weakness of liberalism should give all of us pause.” (06/11/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/womens-rights-abortion-online-privacy-rights/
- The Monarchical President
Source: CounterPunch
by Paul Donnelly“The colonists despised monarchy, having risked their lives fighting for independence and autonomy. Consequently, when the newly independent states created their first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, there was no executive branch. The people feared that a strong central government would threaten citizens’ rights. That weak government failed, so a new framework of government was created that included a President. Under the Constitution, this executive would be constrained by Congress. Congress issues orders, and the President executes them. Two hundred and fifty years later, our country is facing a crisis. Donald J. Trump is acting more like a monarch than an elected executive.” (06/11/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/06/11/the-monarchical-president/
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 06/11/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“CHRISTLESS NATIONALISM: James White is Right!” (06/11/26)
- Dangerous History Podcast, episode 288
Source: Libertarian Institute
“‘The Mad Dream of Conquest,’ Pt. II.” (06/11/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/dangerous-history-podcast/dhpep288/
- Cato Podcast, 06/11/26
Source: Cato Institute
“Economics In One World Cup.” (06/11/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/economics-one-world-cup
- Underthrow Podcast, 06/11/26
Source: Underthrow
“The Paradox of Gender Equality.” (06/11/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-paradox-of-gender-equality
- Show-Me Institute Podcast, 06/11/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Missouri’s Stalled Education Reforms with Cory Koedel.” (06/11/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/missouris-stalled-education-reforms-with-cory-koedel/
- Rising, 06/11/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s controversial comments following the sentencing of Karmelo Anthony for the murder of Austin Metcalf.” (06/11/26)
- The Smartphone, A Modern Miracle of Free Trade
Source: Cobden Centre
“This speech was given at the Beurs van Berlage, which was built as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange more than a century ago. Amsterdam was a pioneer of free trade and free enterprise for centuries. One of the companies [Max Rangeley] discussed was ASML, a Dutch company that is arguably the most important in the world right now for microchip fabrication, having pioneered extreme ultraviolet lithography, which enables intricate nanoscale manufacturing.” (06/11/26)
- The Daily, 06/11/26
Source: The Daily
“The Young Economic Populists Reshaping the Left.” (06/11/26)
- The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 06/11/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“A Conversation with Justice Breyer.” (06/11/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-justice-breyer
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 06/11/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump: I’ Will Attack Iran Every Night Until They Make A Deal!'” (06/11/26)
- Homeschool Workshop, 06/10/26
Source: Homeschool Workshop
“How do Homeschool kids graduate high school?” (06/10/26)
https://rumble.com/v7b3w10-how-do-homeschool-kids-graduate-high-school.html
- Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 06/11/26
Source: Politico
“A vibe check inside Trump’s White House.” (06/11/26)
- Kibbe on Liberty, episode 390
Source: Free the People
“Bitcoin Is Here to Stay | Guest: Saifedean Ammous.” (06/10/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/11/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Iran Tirades Get So Insane that His Own Adviser Visibly Cringes.” (06/11/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/211667/trump-iran-tirades-get-crazed-adviser-visibly-cringes
- The Science of Politics, 06/10/26
Source: Niskanen Center
“Will young Americans become long-term democrats?” (06/10/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/will-young-americans-become-long-term-democrats
- Kinsella on Liberty, episode 491
Source: StephanKinsella.com
“Trying to Persuade Paul Cwik of the Case Against IP.” (06/10/26)
- NPR Politics Podcast, 06/10/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Trump signs law giving immigration enforcement $70 billion.” (06/10/26)
- Questions For Corbett, 06/10/26
Source: The Corbett Report
“Why Is NATO Being Demolished?” (06/10/26)
- The David Frum Show, 06/10/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Republicans vs. the Fourteenth Amendment.” (06/10/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 06/10/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Attacks Iran for Second Night, Hegseth Threatens Cuba at Guantanamo Bay, and More.” (06/10/26)